Top 10 Albums For March 19, 2018

Released for the Debussy centenary in 2018, Maestro Pollini's new album features the second book of Debussy Préludes – recorded 18 years after his hallmark recording of the first book – as well as En blanc et noir, performed with his son and burgeoning pianist and conductor, Daniele Pollini.

Following a recent Grammy nomination and the release of Porpora's Germanico in Germanica with Julia Lezhneva, countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic presents Nicola Porpora: Opera Arias to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Baroque composer's death. Featuring seven world premiere recordings, this album will be released on March 2, the day before the anniversary on March 3.

Almost every day, Bill Frisell gets up in the morning, has some coffee, and writes music. At this point, there are piles and piles and piles of single pages of staff paper filled with his graceful script. "I don't know where the melodies come from," says Frisell. "I try not to judge anything and just let them be." Frisell's mantra, or motto so to speak, is, "Music is good" – a statement said to him by his dear friend and great banjo player Danny Barnes. "That is something that I can say is always true. It's so perfect. Everything I need to know is that phrase, ‘Music is Good.' I almost called the album that, but then I thought that might be too literal. It's good to leave it open."

Human Music is a collection of intricately crafted songs showcasing the band's cinematic-style emotive soundscapes. The album delves into themes of choice, love and loss, and was written by the band at the time singer Joe's mum was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The album was influenced by her passing. Solomon Grey explain, "The album is fundamentally about exploring loss and finding out how integral it is to life. That's where it started for us but it can mean whatever you want it to."

Shabaka Hutchings, saxophonist, band leader and composer, has signed to impulse! records under the umbrella of Verve Label Group. One of his groups Sons of Kemet will release their third album Your Queen Is A Reptile on impulse! on March 30, 2018. To celebrate this signing and the label returning to the United States under VLG, impulse! will present a showcase at Winter Jazzfest on January 12 at Le Poisson Rouge, featuring Sons of Kemet and pianist Sullivan Fortner.

With more than five years since their last release, The Lao Tizer Band has taken the time to grow in every aspect. An updated larger band is exploring some new methods on their upcoming CD/DVD combo, Songs From The Swinghouse: recorded live in just three days at Conway Studios in Hollywood, the band explores three cover tunes with vocalist, a first for the group, alongside original instrumental tracks, bringing them to new heights of excellence and exuberance.

Beloved German singer Max Raabe once again takes his audience on a nostalgic trip to the ‘20s on his new album with the Palast Orchester, der perfekte Moment ...wird heut verpennt. This album is Raabe's third collaboration with pop producer Annette Humpe and features songs about both the triumphs and missteps of everyday life - all performed with Raabe's inimitable blend of humor and emotional vulnerability.

The New York Philharmonic will launch its partnership with Decca Gold, Universal Music Group's newly established U.S. classical music label, on February 23, 2018, with the release of Jaap van Zweden and the Philharmonic's performances of Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7.

18-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason came into the spotlight when he won the prestigious BBC Young Musician award in 2016. Signed to Decca Classics, his debut album features Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No.1, the piece Sheku performed in the BBCYM final. Recorded live with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Inspiration also includes a broad range of new cello arrangements, from Saint-Saëns' "Le Cygne (The Swan)" to Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry."

Following her acclaimed album with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim, Tchaikovsky & Sibelius Violin Concertos, Lisa Batiashvili releases Visions of Prokofiev, a new album with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The album features Prokofiev's two violin concertos as well as select movements from his famous ballets (Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, The Love for Three Oranges), newly arranged for solo violin and orchestra by Lisa's father, Tamás Batiashvili.

Stories For March 19, 2018

This week in the Classic FM Chart, 'The Glorious Garden' has managed to hold onto its No. 1 spot from last week - and Murray Perahia jumps up 20 places with his Beethoven Piano Sonatas!
The Classic FM Chart sees Alan Titchmarsh and Debbie Wiseman holding the No. 1 spot, with their brand-new album of original poetry and symphonic music. And it's good news for Andre Rieu with his album Amore, which stays strong at No. 2. The only change in this week's top five sees Einaudi's Islands and Sheku Kanneh-Mason's Inspiration switching places at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. At No. 6, Murray Perahia has leapt up a huge 20 places with his album of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, while Sing Me Home by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble has also leapt up seven places from No. 14 to No. 7.
There are only two new entries this week: Language of the Heart by the Santiago Quartet at No. 9, and The Complete Recitals on Warner Classics by Christa Ludwig at No. 12. However, the bottom end of the chart sees a number of re-entries, including Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack to Game of Thrones Season 7, Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man, and two albums from Ludovico Einaudi.

On WCRB's CD of the Week, the soloists from the Montreal Symphony call on their virtuosity to bring out the light-heartedness in Beethoven and Richard Strauss.
Symphony orchestras are miraculous for what they can do as one complex entity. They possess a special chemistry that tunes their musicians directly into one another. And smaller miracles tend to crop up, too. Groups of orchestral players get real joy from stepping out of the bigger entity and finding camaraderie and spontaneity in chamber ensembles. Here in Boston, we've got the Boston Symphony Chamber Players and the Boston Cello Quartet. Now, in Montreal, the Soloists of the Montreal Symphony have begun a new series of recordings, and WCRB has chosen their first as our CD of the Week.
READ THE FULL WCRB: Boston ARTICLE

Johnny Cash built his mythic self to fit his actual voice, behaving as if it had arrived from somewhere else, as if the voice (like a flame) had traveled a great distance to get here. This was correct. As the story goes, Cash's voice presented itself to him late in his adolescence. It just showed up one day, unannounced, there to be misunderstood and wasted, like any other blessing. His mother was a simple woman but she referred to his voice as The Gift.
Its snarl, however full of bombast and sanctimony it might have been, also had a lazy cruelness to it, a sense of malignant power held in reserve. It was like an ink drawn from some prior place. Cash would always imply that his voice did not come from his own earthly person but from a spectral elsewhere, outside of him, coming on like the Holy Ghost, selecting him and then commencing its ravishing. There was no way he could have prepared himself for its arrival. He had been working when he received it, simply doing his chores, adding his blood and sweat to the family engine, keeping on keeping on. "When I was 17," he wrote, "I had been cutting wood all day with my father and I came in and I was singing a gospel song, ‘Everybody's gonna have a wonderful time up there, Glory hallelujah.'" PHOTO: Getty/Bloomsbury Publishing/Salon)
READ THE FULL Salon ARTICLE

The Cranberries have just announced they will be releasing a reissue of their Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We for its 25th anniversary as well as a brand new album. The band, as Rolling Stone reported, had already started working on the reissue before singer Dolores O'Riordan death in January, which caused the project to be put on hold. The surviving members of the group, however, have revealed they will get back to the project and complete their new album, on which O'Riordan recorded her vocals before her sudden death. The band said their hope is to release the new record in the beginning of 2019.
READ THE FULL mxdwn.com ARTICLE

The music (and film and tech and everything else) at South by Southwest almost always looks to the future. Emerging acts and novel sounds and panels try to make sense of a music industry turned inside-out.
So what a treat to wander into a club set from '70s rock experimentalist Todd Rundgren at the end of Thursday evening's slate of music at 1 a.m. There are usually a few legacy acts or established mainstream performers each year, but it's rare to catch a singer-songwriter who has been pushing the outer edges of rock since the '60s - and has a worthy new collaborative album to add to that legacy.
Rundgren had some chart hits in the U.S. ("Hello It's Me" and "I Saw The Light" among them), but today, he's more of a cult figure and deep inspiration for today's crop of psychedelic acts and electronic producers. His new LP "White Night" has collaborations with current electronic boundary-pushers like Trent Reznor and Robyn, and nods to his classic rock legacy with turns from Joe Walsh and Steely Dan's Donald Fagen.
There's always pleasure in discovering something brand new at SXSW, but there's just as much as rediscovering something older that turns out to still sound brand new. "You're playing checkers and I'm playing chess," he sang on "Let's Do This," from his newest LP. That's been true for 40 years and counting. PHOTO: Gordon Lamb
READ THE FULL Los Angeles Times ARTICLE

Internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Vijay Iyer is one of the few artists to play two different sets on the Rosies Stage at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Iyer brings out his sextet to play both nights of the Festival on March 23 and 24, presenting original compositions on both nights.
Speaking from New York, Iyer said it had not been a tough decision to travel so far to get to Cape Town. While it is difficult to organise and schedule a six-member band made up of people who also have their own careers, playing in South Africa is something he has wanted to do for a while. "My mother-in-law is from Durban so I have been hearing stories for 20 years now," said the Grammy-nominated composer/ bandleader.
READ THE FULL IOL ARTICLE

Throughout all of the changes the Star Wars galaxy has gone through, from different trilogies of films from different directors, to the different characters that have taken center stage, there has been one constant throughout it all: John Williams.
The legendary composer has been featured in every entry of the main saga, but Williams' score has yet to receive the recognition that it has for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Fans who purchase the movie have access to a score-only version, comparable to what writer and director Rian Johnson calls a "silent film" with Williams music as the only sounds. And now you can watch a teaser for that version in the clip above.
Johnson revealed this version of the movie during a live Q&A, saying it was one of his passion projects for the home video version. READ Comicbook.com
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Max Horowitz

maxcrossover@gmail.com

A graduate of the Aaron Copland School of Music, Max Horowitz is the principle of Crossover Media, a music promotion company founded in 1994. Clients incl; (Sony, Verve/UMG, Warners, BMG, Concord, Disney, eOne). Prior to CM, Producer for SiriusXM, Music Choice, New York's Classical-104WNCN, and the DayNET Talk Network. Recipient of 'The George Foster Peabody Award,' 'International Festival of New York Award,' 'New York State Broadcaster Award.'

Amanda Bloom

amandacrossover@gmail.com

Amanda Bloom is the publicity and communications manager at Crossover Media. A Brooklyn resident, Amanda is also an active NYC jazz vocalist who draws musical inspiration from a wide range of influences. Crossover Media's projects which encompass multiple genres has been a great fit for her both personally and professionally. Amanda earned a BM in jazz vocal performance from the Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Jay Clayton & Gary Thomas.

Vicky Thiel

Vicky Thiel has been influenced by music since birth. Her grandmother was a dancer and her grandfather was a drummer. Her mother - Melanie Thiel managed WNTI Radio in Hackettstown NJ for 21 years, and those years proved very valuable for Vicky's later work at Crossover Media. She recalls many days of volunteer work at music festivals and events, as well as work in the radio studio with mom. Before college, Vicky was a member of the award winning music program at Pennsylvania's prestigious, Bangor High School. Vicky studied piccolo and played in the school 'marching band' for 4 years and flute in 'concert band' for 8. Following in her grandmother's footsteps, literally, Vicky not only plays music but also dances to it, and has been a clog dancer for over a decade and is part of a local popular group called The Blue Ribbon Cloggers. Vicky has been working at Crossover Media for almost 10 years and is an integral part of our team. She likes to play ukulele in her free time.

Michaela Coppola

Michaela Coppola began studying piano at age three and guitar at age five. She performed for the first time at age three and a half; singing at an outdoor festival accompanied by her Dad and accomplished Jazz Guitarist, Michael Coppola.

Equipped with perfect pitch and an incredible musical memory, Michaela began improvising blues on both piano and guitar at age 5 and performed at many local events.

At age thirteen, Michaela became the youngest performing member of the "Fairfield County Jazz Guild", where she developed her Jazz improvisational skills on the stage of local Jazz Club, Two Boots in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During this time, she mainly played with college music majors and made some guest appearances with local professional Jazz artists.

For the past three years, Michaela has been performing semi-professionally with her Dad at many events such as the Montreal Jazz Festival in Montreal, Canada; The Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville, Tennessee and Connecticut's Levitt Pavilion and other venues. She is a regular performing artist in the house band of the monthly Jazz Jam at Café Nine in New Haven, Connecticut as well as other local Connecticut clubs and restaurants. She was featured at Bridgeport's Discovery Museum's Guitar Series with Master Jazz Guitarist, Gene Bertoncini and has also performed with Jazz Piano Legend, Don Trenner and many others.

Her thirst for knowledge brought her to the Litchfield Summer Jazz Program under the tutelage of masters such as Claudio Roditti and Dave Stryker and the Neighborhood Music School Summer Program with Wayne Escoffrey. Michaela completed her High School Studies at ACES Education Center for the Arts in New Haven.

Michaela just completed her third semester at The New School in New York with a 3.68 GPA. Michaela was selected as the lead guitarist for the 2012 and 2013 Connecticut Regional Jazz Festival, 2013 Connecticut All State Jazz Festival and the 2013 National Honor Jazz Ensemble. Michaela was also a member of the Shoreline Community Big Band.

Lillian Tran

Lillian Tran is currently an intern here at Crossover Media. She's currently a junior at NYU studying to obtain a B.S. in Media, Culture, & Communications, as well as seeking minors in Public Health and the Business of Entertainment. Lillian's passion in music stems from her experience playing piano, violin, and guitar when she was younger. Her music interests stem from a variety genres, ranging from Hip Hop to Jazz. Additionally, her prior experience in PR and music event production, along with volunteering at various music festivals, has been a large influence in her career ambitions that have lead her to Crossover.

Darryl Baker

Darryl Baker is currently interning here at Crossover Media. He is also a second semester senior finishing up his B.A. in Radio Productions and a minor in Drama at Hofstra University. While growing up, Darryl attempted to learn a couple of instruments, including the piano and the guitar. While instruments were not his strong suit, he grew up listening to the music of his parents, specifically RnB and Jazz. Music has always been a substantial influence in his life and it plays a huge role in the entertainment industry and in day to day life. He is very glad and enthusiastic to be working with the Crossover Media Team.